Sweet Child of Mine
by AllWasWellatPigfarts
Summary: Nathan and Haley are in college and Duke are playing Stanford bringing Nathan to california where Haley lives with her children Grace and James.
1. Lead the Way

Haley sat in her off campus apartment at 3am on a Friday morning cradling her eighteen month old daughter in her arms. The tiny child was drifting off to sleep and Haley kissed her forehead. She'd been crying all night and had a slight temperature and Haley was going to take her to the doctors tomorrow as soon as she could but she'd given her some medicine to get her through the night.

Haley always worried when either of her babies got a sniffle or a cough she'd assume the worse, but especially with Grace. She'd been small when she was born and had a few problems with her heart, but she'd been fine after a few weeks but Haley was a worrier, it's what she does. Haley thought back to that day, the day she'd given birth to her two angels and the surprise she'd felt when she found out it was twins.

"_Come on, Haley. Push!" the annoying doctor told her_

"_I am!" she shouted through the pain "It hurts" she groaned_

"_Tell me about it" Taylor said as she flexed her hand which Haley and just released but quickly stopped when she saw the glare her little sister was sending her way._

"_One more push Haley" the doctor said_

_Haley pushed and pressed her chin into her chest. Her toes curled in the stirrups and her scream echoed through the small room but then she heard it; the small cry of a baby._

"_Congratulations Haley, you have a son" the doctor smiled and he suddenly seemed less annoying_

"_Just a little more and you'll have both your babies" he said becoming annoying again_

"_W-what!?" she gasped_

"_The other baby"_

"_What other baby?" Taylor asked_

"_You weren't aware that you were having twins?" the doctor asked_

"_No, this is the face of someone in the know" Haley bit out sarcastically_

"_It won't be long this time Haley"_

"_Fine" she pouted_

"_Come on Hales, your going to have two babies"_

"_But I only have stuff for one" she cried, suddenly realising all the problems. As much as she would love both of her children, having two as a seventeen year old single parent would be hard._

_A few minutes later Haley had both of her children but her daughter had been rushed away. She clung to her son, worried about the fate of her daughter._

_Taylor and Chris came back into her room and she looked up._

_They took their seat and looked at Haley._

"_Have you thought of a name for him?" Chris asked curiously _

"_Yeah, James"_

"_James James, that's a bit weird" Taylor said_

"_No, James Scott. James Lucas Scott actually" she said_

"_Hales" Taylor started_

"_No Tay, I don't want to hear it. I want them both to have the surname Scott"_

"_Thought of a name for the girl?" Chris asked_

"_Well not 'the girl'" Haley laughed "But no, I want to see her first"_

_Just then the doctor walked in. Haley looked up at him with hopeful eyes._

"_Well I have some good news and some bad news" he said_

"_I hate when people say that" Haley sighed_

"_Well, your daughter has a heart murmur but with a small procedure she will be just fine"_

"_Oh, thank God" Haley smiled_

"_We can bring her to you, if you want" the doctor said_

"_Yeah, I want to see her" Haley smiled_

_The doctor brought her in and put her in Haley's arms while Chris held James. Haley looked down at her daughter who was sleeping, her tiny form even taking Haley by surprise. She was smaller than James, a lot smaller and Haley was careful not to break her. _

"_Grace" Haley finally spoke "Grace Lydia Scott" she smiled_

Grace had had the procedure a couple of days later and had been fine ever since. Haley put her back in her crib next to her brother and took a step back just to look at them. They were exact opposites, which was perfect.

Grace had black curly hair and intense blue eyes, James also had the blue eyes but they were lighter and he had blonde hair, where Grace was stubborn and determined James was passive and sweet. They were both set to be heartbreakers. And when Grace would scream through the night demanding attention, James would gurgle quietly to himself.

Grace was definitely a Scott and James had all the characteristics of a James.

Haley went back to bed and lay down trying to get some sleep while she could. She was a freshman in college and she already had two children. She was lucky to have Chris and Taylor there helping her and she had no idea what she would do without them. The day she had told them she was pregnant was definitely a day to remember.

Nathan had been in a car accident and Lucas had called to tell her. She had been in the airport about to come home to him when he'd called her cell phone. He told her not to come home because he didn't want her to.

The pain had ripped through her heart when she'd heard those words from his mouth. He hadn't said he didn't love her but he told her not to come home, he didn't want her anymore. He'd explained that they needed to follow their dreams, but that didn't register, all she heard was "don't come home". Then she had collapsed.

She had woken up in hospital, and thought they were making a pretty big deal over her fainting. It was nothing, she had been in shock and passed out, that was all. Then she got the bombshell that she was two months pregnant.

_Haley went back to the hotel and saw Chris sitting in his room with the door open strumming on his guitar. _

"_You're back!" he said sounding genuinely surprised_

"_Yeah" she nodded_

"_What's wrong? Wanted to see the Keller one more time?" he joked_

"_I'm pregnant" she sighed "And Nathan doesn't want me to come home" _

_Chris let out a low whistle _"_What a jackass!" he laughed_

"_I found out in the opposite order" she whispered_

"_He doesn't know your pregnant?"_

"_No, and I want to keep it that way" she sighed_

"_Okay Hales, I don't understand why but I will stand by you no matter what" he smiled_

"_Thanks Chris" she smiled and pulled him into a hug._

_Haley headed back to her room and got out her phone. She dialled the familiar number and got no answer so she left a voicemail._

"_Hi Tay, it's me. I don't really know how to say this, but here goes. I'm pregnant, it's Nathan's, I don't plan on telling him because he needs to pursue his dream, I'm keeping it, I'm leaving the tour and going to try to somehow go to college. I need you to not tell him. Bye"_

That had been one hell of a voice mail that Taylor had received. She had been hung over and tired but that woke her right up. She gone to join Haley and promised to stand by her.

That's how the three of them had ended up sharing a three bedroom apartment. It had started off that the twins were in with Haley but when Chris and Taylor started seeing each other they decided to share a room and they converted Chris' room into a nursery.

Haley had managed to graduate via correspondence with Tree Hill High and gained a place at Stanford with a full ride scholarship due to her circumstance. She was studying english and education as a teacher would be the most appropriate job with two small children. She loved Chris and Taylor and all they had done for her but they would need to live their own lives and she couldn't rely on them forever.

She woke up the next morning and gave Grace and James their breakfast before heading to her first class of the day. She left a note for Taylor telling her to take Grace to the doctor and check James in case he had any similar symptoms because there was always the chance that it could be contagious and when you had two babies in such a small place, if one got ill usually so did the other one.

Taylor got up and checked James, he was fine but Grace was crying and kept pressing her ear to her shoulder. Taylor suspected it was an ear infection so she called the GP and headed to the surgery. The doctor confirmed what Taylor thought and prescribed some drops. Grace would be better in a few days and things should be back to normal.

Nathan, Peyton, Jake, Jenny, Lucas and Brooke stepped onto the Stanford Campus. They all attended Duke; Nathan was a blue devil, Peyton was studying art and music, Jake was studying business, Brooke was doing a fashion course and Lucas was studying literature. Lucas' HCM had prevented him from continuing with basketball but he'd managed to find a second dream. He was currently writing a manuscript for his first book.

Stepping onto the Stanford grounds, Lucas was in awe. After discovering his passion for writing, he thought of going to Stanford but he wanted to stay near Nathan. He wasn't completely back to normal after losing Haley so Lucas decided on Duke, and for some reason so did everyone else.

Being at Stanford made Nathan think of Haley. It had been her dream school that she'd wanted to attend since she was six and had gone looking at colleges for her older sister. He wondered if she even went to college. He'd kept a look out but had never heard of her pursuing music after the tour. He wondered what happened, and why, if she had given up music, why didn't she come back to him?

They had a short practice in the Stanford gym. Nathan didn't see the point, they were going to crush Stanford, they weren't a big basketball school and Duke would win, especially with Nathan starting.

Coming out of the gym he went to meet with the rest of the gang at a small cafe near their hotel. He went in and saw them all sitting at the table waiting for him. He took his seat in between Lucas and Peyton.

"You okay, Nate?" Brooke asked

"I'm fine" he answered shortly.

He ordered a bottle of water and a plate of fries and sat as they all talked. He didn't feel very sociable today. He felt like a fifth wheel and being at Stanford just made him think of Haley. He didn't happen that often anymore but sometimes when it was raining or being here at Stanford, or 

on her birthday or their anniversary of their marriage, first kiss, first date... okay, so he thought about her quite a lot but he tried not to.

He had tried dating, but it hadn't worked very well. He wasn't sure how to move on and what to do with the relationship. He wouldn't open up properly because he was scared of having his heart broken again and that would piss the girl off which would piss Nathan off, who would use it as an excuse to end their relationship.

They had finished eating and were sitting in the cafe. They had paid and were waiting for Peyton to come back from the bathroom. They were sitting in the window and looked across the street. Nathan noticed the doctors surgery across the road and watched as a young woman came out with a small child in a push chair. She looked familiar but he couldn't place her.

"You ready to go, Nate?" Lucas asked

"Yeah" Nathan answered and followed them out.

They crossed the road and were almost at the doctor's surgery when the woman he'd seen earlier was joined by another woman. He stopped causing the rest of them to stop and they just watched the scene before them unfold.

"Hey Taylor" Haley said "What did the doctor say?"

"Just an ear infection Hales, she's fine"

Haley picked up her daughter who smiled happily.

"Hey baby girl. Have you been good for Aunt Taylor?" she kissed the babies forehead and pulled her to her chest.

"You should go shopping or something, I'll take Grace home, I don't have any classes this afternoon so you and Chris can have the afternoon off. You guys should go out for the night too, I don't have to work or anything."

"I think I'll take you up on that sis. Since you use us for looking after your angels" Taylor teased.

"Bye Taylor. Say goodbye to aunty Tay, Grace" the baby gurgled a sound which could mean goodbye in baby language.

Haley put Grace back into the push chair and wheeled her away down the street towards her apartment.

Nathan stood shocked; he didn't know what to do. Haley had a kid and was at Stanford and Taylor was here and he was pretty sure she mentioned Chris. Was it his kid?

Taylor turned and started to walk towards them, she took out her phone that was ringing and answered.

"Hey baby, yeah I'm on my way. Haley's headed home with Grace. It was just an ear infection she'll be fine" she was talking on the phone when she bumped into Nathan's chest.

"Oh, sorry. I really should look where I'm going." She laughed lightly as she took a step back and looked up and pulling her phone away from her ear.

She froze when she saw who was standing in front of her, and judging by the looks on their faces they had witnessed Haley coming to get her daughter. They looked afraid to ask what had happened so Taylor figured she should take the initiative.

"Chris, I got to go." She said and hung up.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked to which Taylor laughed, a reaction that they were not expecting.

"I live here" she replied "What are you doing here? It's a damn long way from North Carolina"

"We're here for a game" Nathan muttered

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. Well, it was nice seeing you" she said as she started to turn around

"Taylor" Lucas stopped her "You can't do that"

"Do what, Lucas?" she asked turning around

"Just walk away. Even if we hadn't just seen what we've just seen there would still be questions for you to answer"

"Wow Lucas, that's a long question for someone who didn't go to college to understand" she smirked

"Quit trying to stall Taylor. Does Haley have a child?"

"No" Taylor answered and they looked confused "She has two"

"What?" Nathan asked, that must mean she's in a relationship if she has two children.

"Twins" Taylor answered "A boy and a girl, James and Grace. They're eighteen months old"

"Are they mine, Taylor?" Nathan asked

"You better come with me" Taylor said as she led the way.


	2. Daddy's Gonna Buy You A Mocking Bird

Haley decided to take a detour before going home. The weather was warm and she thought it would be a good idea for Grace to get some fresh air. But soon enough, Grace became restless and started to cry so Haley headed home.

Taylor had led Nathan and everyone else back to the apartment and they were waiting in an awkward silence in the sitting room. It was a nice sized apartment, bigger than the one Nathan and Haley had shared in Tree Hill. There were children's toys scattered about the floor and pictures on the walls. There was a keyboard and guitar in the corner of the room and a small TV in the other corner, surrounded by sesame street dvds and Disney films.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Taylor asked and she was met with a chorus of 'no thank you's'.

Damn, Taylor thought in her head, she was hoping that would give her the chance to get of this atmosphere. It was unbearable and they had only been there ten minutes. She had thought Haley would be here when she got home and couldn't help but wonder where she had gone.

Just then they were interrupted by the door opening and everyone paused in bated breath waiting for the person to come down the hallway into the living room. They were disappointed when none other than Chris Keller walked into the room.

"Woah! Twilight zone much?" he laughed "Tay, what the hell is going on?" he was holding James, who was sleeping soundly, in his arms.

"They're here for a game"

"So what, you thought you'd just invite them in" he waited for an answer "Tay, why don't you help me put Jamie to bed" he said and it was more than an order than a request.

They went into the nursery and all the occupants of the living room could hear a hushed argument, and while they were in the middle of that the front door opened.

Haley made her way down the short hallway, Grace in her arms and was greeted by a scene she had never anticipated. She stood for what felt like an eternity staring at her childhood best friend and her ex-husband. She heard the whispers coming from the nursery and Grace started to whine so she just turned around and walked into the nursery leaving them all sitting in her front room.

In the nursery Taylor and Chris were still arguing.

"Would one of you like to tell me what is going on?" she said, her tone was calm but they could see the fury in her eyes.

"They saw us outside the doctor's surgery. Okay, we're gonna go now." Taylor said, and before Haley had a chance to do anything Taylor and Chris had fled the room.

"It was nice seeing you guys. Bye" Taylor said and she ran out of the apartment closely followed by Chris.

"What the hell was that?" Brooke asked

"Well I'm guessing Haley's less than pleased" Peyton answered

"Makes two of us" Nathan added and stood up and walked out of the room.

Inside the nursery Haley was changing Grace while James slept soundly in his crib, after being changed by Taylor.

Grace started to get restless and her face scrunched up, preparing to roar.

"Come on baby, be a good girl for mommy" Haley coaxed "We just need to put the ear drops in your ear and you'll feel better, I promise" she said picking her up and kissing her forehead but the baby continued to wail.

"I love you, baby girl, but please mommy needs you to shush!" Haley tried hoping that her daughter would agree

"Okay, let me give you the eardrops then we'll try and get you to sleep"

Haley got the medicine and eardrops out of the bag, while holding Grace to her chest. She tipped the baby over and leant her so her ear was facing up. Grace squirmed in her arms but she managed to keep her still long enough to give her the drops.

As the cold liquid hit her ear the baby let out a cry.

"Shhh sh sh sh" Haley comforted while rocking her back and forth.

Haley stood there for a good ten minutes trying to get Grace to sleep but nothing was working.

"Okay, I'm going to sing, but I'm going to have to whisper sing or the people outside, who aren't very happy with mommy will hear and that probably won't be a good thing" Haley laughed uncertainly at her own words realising the truth to them.

To be quite honest she felt guilty, and like a terrible mother. She wanted Grace to stay awake for as long as possible so she wouldn't have to go out there so soon and deal with all of it that awaited her.

She started to sing.

_Hush little baby don't say a word_

Nathan watched as Haley sang to their daughter. She was a natural at this and he could see the content look on his daughters face while Haley sang to her. He was angry that he had missed so much already. He didn't even know that he had children; it made him like Dan and it infuriated him that if it hadn't been for this basketball game his children could have grown up without their father and maybe even ended up despising him.

_Mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird  
And if that mocking bird won't sing_

Haley looked beautiful. Nathan could admit it, there was something so undeniably attractive about the way she was caring for her child. Even though he didn't want to think that right now, he was angry at her, but she looked amazing. She always did in his eyes, whether it was first thing in the morning or when she was in sweats, even when she was ill, she still looked beautiful to him.

_Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring  
And if that diamond ring turns brass_

He always knew she'd be an amazing mother she just had that air about her. He had never thought of having kids before Haley but when they got married he'd seen their whole future. They would have had two boys and a girl and they would live in a home not a house. They would have a dog, possibly a Labrador and a big back yard where the kids could play in the summer and in the nights he and Haley could watch the sun go down. He'd seen it all and he thought that he'd lost it all when she left but maybe, just maybe he had another chance at that life.

_Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass  
And if that looking glass gets broke_

Ever since the moment he'd seen Haley with the baby outside of the doctor's surgery he knew that he'd be there for her and the babies if they were his. That was never in question.

_Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat  
And if that billy goat won't pull_

He thought into the future and wondered what it would be like and every different scenario he pictured, Haley was always there. Looking after their children with him, supporting him and helping him.

_Mama's gonna buy you a cart and bull  
And if that cart and bull falls down_

Then he looked in the present. Haley knew where he was, she must have done yet she didn't come looking for him and she didn't tell him that he was a father. How could she have done that, this was a major life changing choice that she had made alone. He didn't know what to think, but he was going to get answers.__

You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

She finished quietly with Grace asleep in her arms. She softly put her down in the crib and stroked her head. It scared Haley how much she looked like Nathan, even her personality seemed to be taking on some of his traits. Grace is as stubborn as the day is long and would not do anything she didn't want to.

Haley leant over James' crib and watched him breathing in and out. At eighteen months both of them could walk, but neither was talking English yet. They could make noises and speak 'baby language' as Chris called it but they hadn't said any coherent words yet, Haley was just waiting for the day.

Nathan walked into the room quietly, Haley knew he was there but didn't say anything.

"They're perfect" Nathan whispered as he joined Haley and looked into the two cribs.

"Yeah" Haley breathed out just as Grace started to stir "Shit, they're waking up!" she said and pulled Nathan to sit on the floor.

He rose his eyebrows at her and she shrugged

"If they wake up now, it'll take me hours to get them back to sleep" she chuckled lightly

"Hales-" Nathan started but was interrupted by Haley's chuckles. He looked at her confused.

"Your voice is deeper, just takes some getting used to" Haley told him

Nathan smiled slightly but then a frown marred his features but she carried on before he could say anything.

"I used to wonder what they'll be like when they're older, I always pictured Jamie being like Lucas but Grace I saw being like a female version of you. And that scared the hell out of me!" she chuckled "Then I got scared because I realised how fast they would grow up. We got married when we were 16, Nathan! That's them in fourteen and a half years. I never understood your Mom's bitterness but now after having them I can't understand how my parents let us do it. I can't imagine them leaving for college or getting married!"

"Haley, that's ages away"

"I bet our parents thought that too" Haley laughed softly

"Yeah" he sighed

They sat together for a little while longer before Haley brought a stop to the silence.

"I don't know what to say to you Nathan"

"I don't know if I want to know" Nathan said

Haley looked taken aback so he carried on "I don't want to know why you didn't tell me, but I want to get to know them. Shared custody or whatever, I want to be a good father to them"

"You already are" Haley smiled softly and stood up discretely wiping a tear from her eye.

They stood there together looking down at Grace and James.

"I want to know everything about them, everything I've missed" Nathan said and even he was shocked with the lack of bitterness in his voice.

"Well, their full names are James Lucas Scott and Grace Lydia Scott and despite their middle names James is taking after my side of the family and Grace is taking after yours" she smiled fondly

"Why don't we take it into the living room" Nathan suggested and Haley hesitated

"They're not wolves" he teased and she nodded

"Okay, just one sec" she said as she turned on the baby monitor and took it out with them.

She walked out into the living room and waited with bated breath for their reaction. Lucas who was standing looking at some pictures she had hanging on the wall, including one of the two of them on the roof of the cafe when they were 10, walked over to her and embraced her in a hug. She wrapped 

her arms around him and clung on. She had missed him so much and she wished everyday that she could talk to him but she usually had her hands full and if she told him about the twins she would be putting him in a difficult position with Nathan and she didn't want him to have to lie to his brother.

"I missed you buddy" he whispered slightly choked up

"I missed you too"

"Hey Tutorgirl, or should I say Tutormom?" Brooke said as she brought Haley into a hug after Lucas.

Peyton watched Nathan curiously. He was confusing her and he was putting off the inevitable and it was going to come back and bite him in the ass she knew it. There was no way he and Haley had sorted everything out in the time they had been gone and they will both need to know the whole truth before they can move on.

"How about some light conversation" Lucas suggested

"Good idea" Nathan agreed.

And as arranged a light conversation ensued. They talked about a lot but stayed away from any sore topics. At about six o' clock Nathan realised he had to leave for the game.

"I better get going" Nathan said "Can I see Grace and James before I go?" he asked

"Of course" Haley replied and led Nathan into the nursery.

Grace and James were both awake, James was sitting up chewing the bars on the crib and Grace was standing repeatedly banging a teddy bear on the side and laughing to herself. Nathan smiled at the sight.

"Look whose better!" Haley cooed at her daughter who just grinned in response.

Haley picked up Grace and handed her to Nathan who took her uncertainly. He held her awkwardly for a few moments before she relaxed into him. She looked up at him with her big blue eyes and then slapped his cheek with her small hand.

Haley, who was watching bit back a laugh but Nathan could see she was dying trying to keep it in.

"You think this is funny, huh?" he teased and she laughed

"It means she likes you" Haley giggled

"Yeah" Nathan said back as Grace continued to look up at him. She was now reaching for the top of his head, so he held her up higher and she patted him on the head before twirling one of his short hairs around her fingers. He lowered her down and kissed her cheek.

"I'll see you soon baby girl" he whispered before handing her back to Haley and moved over to James

"Hey buddy" he said as he picked him up. James just stared at him, everything about James was so Haley, except his eyes he definitely had Scott eyes. James was fiddling with the button on his shirt and Nathan started a conversation.

Haley watched in amazement. Nathan was a natural and Grace and James already loved him and if Haley was honest with herself she had never stopped. He was making conversation with James who was trying his best to give answers to his father's questions.

"I've got to go now" he said kissing his son's forehead

"Can I see them tomorrow?" he asked Haley after he put James down

"Definitely! You're so good with them Nathan" she smiled "Come by tomorrow and you can take them out" Haley suggested

"Alone?"

"I'll come if you want, I just wasn't sure if you would want me to come I mean we've been okay today but I thought a whole day together might be hard and pushing it. We have to-"

"Haley, You're rambling" he stopped her "It would be good for us to spend time as a family"

"What about everything else"

"We'll figure that out later" he said

"Nathan-" Haley objected

"Later" he smiled and kissed her on the cheek and waved goodbye to the twins.

After Nathan and everyone had left, Haley went back into the nursery where Grace and James were playing in James' crib where she had left them.

"That was you daddy, kids. He's an amazing person and I know he's going to be an amazing Dad" Haley told them

"Dada" Grace giggled

"What did you just say?" Haley asked

"Dada!" Grace clapped herself

"Aren't you a little Daddy's girl" Haley laughed

"Dada"

"Forget the mocking bird, I bet your daddy would buy you the world" Haley said to herself

"Dada!"


	3. Don't Speak

**Okay, first of all I would like to say that I am absolutely blown away by the amount of reviews I recieved for the last couple of chapters. I was so encouraged that I got on to writing this chapter to update as quickly as possible. So thank you, everyone and I will try and get the next chapter up tonight as well. P.S. when is the next episode of OTH going to be on?**

* * *

Haley heard a knock at the door and manoeuvred herself around the toys scattered on the floor. The knocking persisted and she almost tripped.

"Hold on a second" she called impatiently gaining her balance, she had James in her arms a towel slung over her shoulder. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she was still in her pyjamas. She opened the door and saw Nathan standing there waiting expectantly.

"Okay for future reference" she said as they made there way into the apartment "nine o' clock on a Saturday morning is a little early for 1 year olds, and it's even harder on their mother"

Nathan laughed and picked Grace up from the floor where she was sitting.

"Oh, this is so great you're going to be the first person I tell-"

"What?"

"Grace said her first word yesterday just after you left" Haley smiled

"Really? What was is it?" Nathan said excited while looking at the girl in his arms.

"Come on Grace, talk."

Nothing.

"Come on baby, show daddy what you can say" she coaxed while Nathan was shocked at how comfortable he felt with the way Haley had referred to him as daddy.

"Dada" Grace said while pointing at Nathan whose eyes widened.

Haley smiled at him as Grace said it again.

"Wow!"

"Yeah, just after you left she said it. It was so amazing Nathan" she smiled

"I'm going to go and get ready then we can go alright?" Haley said as she made her way to the bathroom.

"Looks like it's just us until your mom gets back" Nathan said as he sat on the floor with James and Grace. He watched in interest as James amused himself with some building blocks while Grace was doing everything in her power to keep his attention, including hitting him over the head with an Elmo doll.

"Hey!" he exclaimed and Grace laughed. He picked her up and placed her on his lap before starting to tickle her. He saw James watching so he brought him to join them.

By the time Haley was dressed Nathan and the twins were sprawled on the floor with the kids pinning him down. Haley watched as he interacted with Grace and James. They loved him and it was amazing to watch. She knew they had to talk sooner or later but she was trying to put it off for as long as possible, it was nice to just enjoy his company for a little while.

* * *

"You ready?" she asked and Nathan who hadn't realised she was there was startled and didn't see the elmo doll coming.

Lucas, Peyton, Brooke and Jake sat in their hotel room watching the TV but Lucas wasn't really watching it. He still couldn't believe Haley had kids. He was an Uncle! He didn't understand how Nathan could be so relaxed about everything. Lucas was mad, mad that he missed two years with his best friend and niece and nephew. He knew that it would have been hard for her to come back but she could have tried, or at least have told him. She could've called and told him, he wouldn't have told Nathan if she asked him not to.

"Okay, lets stop wasting electricity and turn this off" Brooke said pointing at the television set.

"Why?" Lucas asked pulled from his thoughts

"Because we're all thinking about the same thing, why don't we talk about it?"

Lucas nodded mutely and Brooke turned the TV off.

"What's bugging you Broody?" Brooke asked as she snuggled into Lucas' shoulder. At the beginning of senior year Brooke had decided to give her relationship with Lucas another try but they had been non-exclusive until the fantasy boy draft when Lucas swept her off her feet and they'd been going strong ever since.

"I just don't get why she didn't tell me!"

"She couldn't tell you without telling Nathan" Jake reasoned

"Why couldn't she tell Nathan?" Peyton wondered

"She probably had her reasons" Jake tried again to be the voice of reason

"What could be so important that she would keep his kids from him?" Peyton argued

"There must have been something" Lucas said

"We'll find out soon enough" Brooke said

"How do you know?" Lucas asked

"Didn't you see yesterday, both Haley and Nathan are keeping everything bottled in. Sooner or later they will burst and whatever truths or secrets there are, they will come out" Brooke told them knowingly.

Haley and Nathan strolled down a quiet street with Grace and James in the twin buggy. The sun was shining and it was a perfect day. For Nathan it still felt so surreal; he was with his children and Haley. He just couldn't get his head around it and had barely got any sleep last night he was so excited. Although, there was a part of him who didn't want to think about it all. It made him ask questions he 

wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to. He would try and keep this equilibrium going for as long as he could and he would enjoy himself today no matter what.

They reached a park that was deserted and went in. It was a park that you usually only hear about in story books. The grass was green and the ground beneath their feet wasn't too hard but wouldn't get them muddy. There was no graffiti or vandalism on any of the toys and none had rusted. It was untouched, like no one had been there before.

"I found this place a while back" Haley told him "It's so peaceful here and I don't think many people know about it"

"It is pretty cool as far as parks go" Nathan agreed.

They got the twins out of the push chair and Nathan took James to the swings and Haley took Grace to the slide. They spent a while going around the park and Nathan bonded with James.

It wasn't until Grace started to whine that Haley realised how long they had been there.

"Lets have some lunch" Haley said "Nathan, bring Jamie over here, he needs to eat"

Nathan heard Haley calling so he picked James up and took him over to where Haley had laid out a blanket under a tree. He sat down with James and watched as Haley unpacked the food she had packed.

"Can you take Grace?" she asked

"Sure" he said and he pulled Grace into his lap.

"Here" Haley said as she handed Nathan a tub of baby food.

Nathan took the food and opened it. He saw Grace starting to get impatient so he quickened his pace. He dipped the spoon in and fed a bit to Grace ad she continued to eat happily until about half way through the pot when she refused to open her mouth.

"Come on, Grace. Open your mouth for daddy. You need to eat your" he paused to have a look at what she was actually eating "parsnips? Yeah, I don't think I'd eat them either"

"Nathan!" Haley admonished and Nathan just smirked

"What's Jamie got?" he asked after a second

"Carrot" Haley replied

"Carrot and parsnip Hales, really? I used to have apple" he muttered the last part

"What was that?"

"Nothing"

"That's what I thought" she said

After they finished eating they sat there for a little while longer playing with the kids. Grace got up to run away but Haley pulled her back.

"Nuh-uh, you need some sun screen on miss" she said and pulled her back

"Sun screen? Hales the clouds have come out"

"You can never be too careful. Their skin is delicate" she defended as she rubbed the cream into Grace's skin. After she had done both of them she let them play on the grass beside where she and Nathan were sitting.

"How are you Hales?" she looked at him questioningly "It can't have been easy" he said

"No it wasn't always easy but I had a great support system and everyone was really helpful. Especially Taylor and Chris"

"How did that happen anyway?" he asked bitterly, Haley picked up on it but didn't say anything.

"I told Chris and called Tay when I found out and they both just dropped everything to help out, I was so shocked but I'll always be grateful. There's no way I could have gotten through college without them and I need some qualifications to give them the life they deserve" Haley answered as she watched her children playing.

"What do you want to know Nathan?" she asked in a soft voice

"What?" he panicked

"About Grace and James, is there anything that you're curious about? There must be something" she persisted. She hoped that they would eventually talk about her decision, he had to know, he had to understand.

"I'll find out over time" he smiled "I just want to live in the present and not worry about the past"

Haley didn't know what to do; she and Nathan would have to talk it out some time. She knew it would end with an argument but hopefully it would help them get past everything and hopefully move on together. They couldn't go on with the way things were it was unfair on them and it would be unfair on James and Grace to grow up among that.

"Nathan we have to talk"

Nathan sighed dreading the following conversation.

"Open up to me. I know you, it's been a long time but I do know you and I can tell you're angry but you're holding back"

"I don't want to fight with you Haley"

"What so we'll continue with this for the rest of our lives then? This uncomfortable... whatever this is until the twins are eighteen and we go our separate ways. I don't know about you Nathan but I can't and won't do that!"

"What do you want from me Haley?" he said in a harsh whisper

"I want you to be honest with yourself. I want you to shout at me. I want you to demand the truth. I want you to know why I did what I did! I don't believe that you don't want to know Nathan so just get it over with!"

"Not everything is about you Haley! I don't want them to see us fighting" he retorted before getting up and walking away.

Haley sighed and stayed where she was sitting. After a while she noticed Jamie and Grace getting tired.

"Come on munchkins, it's time to go home" she called as she packed everything and put it in the bag that she stored in the basket at the bottom of the pushchair. She got them both into the push chair and started off down the road with Nathan walking awkwardly next to her.

On the way they had looked like a family enjoying each other's company but now they looked like two strangers on the same street.

* * *

Lucas, Brooke, Peyton and Jake reached Haley's apartment and knocked on the door. The door opened and stood behind it was Taylor dressed in a bathrobe with Chris Keller in his boxers standing behind her. To say they felt awkward would be an understatement.

"Why don't you guys come in, Haley and Nathan aren't back yet" she told them

"We don't want to intrude" Lucas stated and Brooke sniggered

"Oh no, it's fine. We were just going to get dressed and have something to eat" she said as she welcomed them in.

They sat and had a bowl of Taylor's spaghetti Bolognese which they had to admit was pretty good and kept a light conversation going. They heard the door opening and saw Haley and Nathan bring the twins who were both sleeping in.

"We'll just go put them down" Haley told the room in general before hurrying to the nursery. Nathan followed her cautiously and put Grace down in her crib while Grace tended to Jamie. Once both of them were sleeping in their cribs Haley and Nathan started to head out but just as they reached the door Nathan put his hand up to stop her.

"Listen, Hales-"

"Just forget it Nathan" she said as she pushed past him into the living room where she took a seat on the end of the sofa next to Taylor.

"They're so cute Tutorgirl" Brooke said as she looked at some pictures in an album that was on the coffee table.

"Thanks Brooke" Haley smiled "but looks can be deceiving" and everyone laughed

"Look Haley, I know everyone else is treating it like a taboo subject but why didn't you tell any of us that you were pregnant" Brooke asked. Everyone gave her an evil look but she didn't falter.

"It's okay Brooke" Brooke smiled victoriously "At least someone wants to know"

"Don't give me that Haley" Nathan exploded

"What, Nathan?"

"Don't act like the victim, Haley. You kept my kids from me!" he shouted

"Is that what it is? You don't want to know my side of the story because that would mess with your pretty little picture of me being the bad guy who hid your kids from you for 2 years!" she pushed purposefully trying to wind him up

Nathan didn't say anything he just stared at her for a moment. They hadn't noticed everyone leaving as they argued.

"Come on then. Tell me the heart wrenching tale of a young pregnant rock star whose husband would have been all too willing to take her back" he sat down mockingly.

"Would he though? Have taken me back? Because the last thing I remember him saying to me was don't come home" she paused "You got in a car accident and Lucas calls me so seeing as how I was still in love with you I sped to the airport and booked the first flight back to Tree Hill. I was waiting to check when I got the call from you saying not to come home so we could pursue our dreams. Do you know what happened next, Nathan?" she asked sarcastically "I collapsed and woke up in hospital to a load of stupid ass doctors telling me I was pregnant but all I could hear in my ears was you telling me you needed to chase your dreams!"

There were tears of frustration and anguish and pain running down Haley's face and Nathan slumped in his seat.

"Haley, I-"

"Do you see now? Do you see why I thought I couldn't come home. I thought I was doing what was best for you, you might not agree and it might be misguided but I was only trying to do the right thing"

Nathan stood up and moved towards Haley. He brought her into his arms she tried to fight against him but it wasn't working so she relaxed into the hug.

"I get it Haley, I don't agree but I get it. I'm just glad I found you"

He breathed in the scent of her hair and she breathed in the smell of his cologne. They both thought simultaneously...

_God, I've missed this._

* * *

**So there it was, hope you enjoyed and I will get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Reviews appreciated.**


	4. Elsewhere

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I last updated this story but here it is. Also, I realised I have a lot of stories that are in progress but I will try and get at least a chapter for each done while I am on break, but I have some big exams coming up soon so I might not be able to do much over the next few months, with revision and everything. I would also like to thank everyone who reads my stories and reviews it means a lot to me that people take the time to do that. So thank you and I hope to read some more after this chapter .**

Nathan had gone home a couple of days later. After their argument they had begun a more comfortable friendship but Haley still felt as if there was more they needed to talk about and sort out. They didn't know what they would do for the rest of their college education and what about after? Haley didn't want her children's father to be thousands of miles across the country but did that mean she would have to follow him wherever he went. What if they never got back together would she have to watch him get remarried and have more kids and be his 'other family.' It was all so confusing and complicated that Haley didn't like to think about it for too long because then she would have to make decisions.

Summer vacation rolled around and Haley got ready to go to Tree Hill. She had agreed to go and spend the summer there so that Nathan could have as much time with the twins as possible. Secretly Haley was really looking forward to it, she had missed that town and was so happy that she could go back and give her children a tour of where she grew up.

The one thing Haley was not looking forward to however was the plane journey with two young children she was about to embark upon. She had everything packed, she had one large suitcase for herself and all baby stuff but she had left it a little bit empty because she could only assume that they would buy more in the time they would spend in Tree Hill, and Haley had a hunch that Nathan planned on spoiling them rotten.

"You ready, Hales?" Chris asked. He had kindly offered to drive her to the airport and who was she to refuse.

"Yeah"

"Well, you are all we're waiting for so get your ass in the car"

"Who shoved that boot up your ass?"

"The same person who made me get up at 6 o' clock in the morning to drive you to the airport"

"Taylor then" she laughed and Chris just scowled

"You are so whipped!" Haley teased

"It's one hell of a whip" he joked

"Okay, ew. No need for the visuals" she laughed as they got in the car.

Grace and James were sleeping peacefully in the backseat. She didn't know how Chris had managed it considering they had both been high as kites when she was getting them ready.

"Before we drive away I just want to check that you have everything"

She began to rifle through her bag "Okay, I have tickets, all the baby stuff I need, my phone, money"

"Who am I kidding" he started as he put the key in the ignition "you are the most neurotic woman I have ever met. There is no way you haven't packed everything you own and more"

"Ha ha"

After they had been driving for a while Chris spoke.

"Are you alright about this?"

"huh?"

"Going to Tree Hill" he explained

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it" she smiled

"I know you are, but Chris Keller can't help but think that maybe you're not considering everything. You will be there on his terms; his family including the devil himself, Dan Scott will be there."

"Okay, a, I thought that you had stopped talking about yourself in third person and b, I know. I was up half the night just thinking about it but they need to see their daddy and any problems that I may have, I will deal with them" she admitted.

He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, they were at the airport so Haley got out of the car and put Grace and James in the stroller and Chris came in with the suitcase. When she had checked in she gave Chris a hug goodbye.

"Have a good time" he ordered

"I will and I promise to call you if I need rescuing" she gave him another hug and walked towards her departure lounge.

She took a seat in the waiting area and fed Grace and James some fruit for their breakfast. They were eating more solids and talking more as well. James had said his first word a little after Grace, with coaching from Taylor and Chris he managed to say 'music.' It sounded more like moo-sack but it was still a word. But now they both had their own small vocabulary.

Haley's flight was called to board so she quickly got out her phone as mothers and young children were asked to board last. She dialled Nathan's number and waiting for him to pick up.

"Hello" he answered

"Hey Nathan, it's Haley"

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just thought I'd tell you that we're boarding now. So we'll be about two hours. Are you still able to pick us up?"

"Yeah, New Brunswick airport and I'll be there by eleven" he told her

"Okay, see you soon" she said and hung up.

She got all their stuff together and waited until almost everyone had gone. She got to the gate and an air hostess took the push chair to store it on the plane and she made her way through to the aircraft and found her seat. She and the twins had a row to themselves so she sat Grace at the window and James on the other side of her. They had never been on a plane before and Haley was 

worried about how they would react but she was lucky and both of them seemed to love flying and stayed calm for the entire journey. They even made conversation with the nice lady sitting in the row opposite.

When the plane came to land Haley waited until everyone else had gotten off the plane before she tried to get off. They walked through the terminal and came to baggage claim. The twins were having such a good time that neither of them would sit in the pushchair so Haley folded the small travel one they had brought and strapped it to the suitcase and headed out of the building. But as Haley soon discovered, trying to pull along a suitcase and keep hold of two toddlers was a hard task.

When they got near the exit Grace started to speed ahead, as fast as her little legs would carry her.

Haley started to panic but calmed when she saw Nathan pick Grace up as she ran to him.

"Dada, we flyed!" she smiled

"Did you?" he asked

"Yeah" she smiled that sweet smile.

"God, I missed you" he hugged her and felt her arms go around his neck. He really had missed them. It had been the beginning of May when he had last seen them and now it was August. He had found it almost unbearable and had been counting down the days until they got there. Grace had gotten so much bigger and was talking more, it scared him thinking about how much he had missed but he had a plan. He'd been thinking a lot since he'd come back to North Carolina. He realised that he still loved Haley and he would ask her to come to Duke. He hoped she would feel the same; he wanted to try again and be a real family with her. He couldn't imagine doing it with anyone other than her.

"Hey" Haley said when she reached him she still had Jamie clinging to her hand. He was a little more wary around Nathan and even Haley was surprised that Grace had remembered him so well and been so comfortable with him straight away.

"Hey, how was the flight?"

"It was good. They were angels, thank God!"

"Come on, let's go" Nathan led them out of the building and to the car.

"Oh shoot, I don't have any car seats!" Haley said

"I got some, since I figured that you wouldn't be taking them on the plane" he laughed

"Thought of everything, huh?"

"Yep" he nodded "You want to get in" he gestured towards the passenger side while he put the kids in the back.

The journey back to Tree Hill was easy and conversation flowed. Haley had enjoyed it, it was nice just spending time with Nathan again and every so often Grace and James would join the conversation.

They reached the cafe and got out of the car. They had all decided to meet there and Haley wanted to see Karen and Keith and their son Michael. Haley took James' hand and Grace had pouted and refused to move unless Nathan carried her. So he had picked her up and followed Haley. In the cafe waiting for them was Karen, Keith, Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, Jake and Deb. Nathan had told Deb that she was a Grandmother but had asked her not to tell Dan, who knows what he would have done if he found out.

Haley had gone ahead and Nathan had Grace in his arms. She was tugging at his arm but he continued to walk.

"Dada!" she screamed and hit him

"No" Nathan said as he caught her arm and held it softly "You don't hit" he told her and she started to pout, and the bottom lip started to quiver and he could see the tears gathering at the bottom lids of her eyes.

"You can cry all you want Grace but you are not allowed to hit people" he continued calmly and when Grace saw crying wasn't going to work with her dad she stopped and just continued to pout and tried to get down but he wouldn't let her in case she tried to run off. She kept tugging at him but nothing happened he was a lot stronger than Haley. Haley never bought the tears either and didn't let her hit people but Chris and Taylor weren't as strong with punishments and because she spent so much time with them sometimes the things Haley said didn't quite get through.

Haley opened the door to the cafe, it was closed so there were no customers and everyone stopped what they were doing when she came in. Karen rushed over to her and embraced her in a hug and she let go of James' hand and he shyly moved behind his mother.

"Haley! You look so different" she exclaimed as she moved out of the hug. Haley had cut her hair and died it a chestnut brown as opposed to the blonde it had started to become before she left. She also seemed to have a slimmer face and looked much older, but still young.

"Thanks Karen, so do you"

"I'm so happy to see you!" Karen smiled kindly "So when am I going to meet the famous James and Grace I've heard so much about.

"Here's Jamie, standing behind me" she moved so Karen could see him "And Nathan has Grace" she said just as he walked through the door

"Are they here?" Deb asked coming out from the kitchen "I want to meet my Grandchildren so I can spoil them rotten" she laughed "Haley!" she pulled the girl into a hug and Haley was shocked. They had hardly been friends before she had left but Deb smiled reassuringly and Nathan had told her things had changed so she smiled back.

"Mom, I'd like you to meet Jamie and Grace" Nathan said as James extended a small hand out to her.

"Well, you must take after mommy, because your daddy was never this polite" she shook his hand.

"Hey!" Nathan exclaimed as Grace reached out for Haley still pouting.

"What's wrong with her?" Haley said, Grace had been so excited about seeing Nathan she couldn't understand why she wanted to get away from him.

"She's not very happy with me at the moment" he smirked "She's going to be one hell of a teenager" he cringed at the thought.

"You are definitely your daddy's daughter" Deb cooed but Grace shook her head with the pout still evident on her face. "Definitely!"

Nathan put Grace down since there weren't many placed she could go in the cafe and there were loads of people to keep an eye on her.

Everyone said their hellos and they sat at the largest table talking to each other and catching up. Haley sat talking to Deb.

"I'm sorry Haley, for how I treated you when you married Nathan" Deb said sincerely

"It's okay Deb. I didn't understand then but I do now" Haley spoke quietly as she watched Grace and James play with Michael and Jenny.

"You've done a great job with them Haley. And now you have Nathan to help you"

"He's so good with them" Haley smiled fondly

"It helps that you're still in love with him"

Haley didn't eve bother denying it and watched as Nathan and Lucas joined the kids. Grace seemed to have forgotten about what she was angry at Nathan for and was playing with him happily. She smiled at Deb and walked over to them.

"I guess you're her favourite person again" Haley joked and Nathan smirked

"Dada, look I mades a house!" she smiled widely and Nathan and Haley watched proudly.

"You're a genius!" he picked her up and blew a raspberry on her cheek and she giggled.

Karen brought lunch out so they all went back to the table and sat down. They ate and talked and when they had finished Grace got off of Nathan's lap and ran around for a bit before trying to get back on his lap. She attempted to climb up his leg and pushed his hand away when he went to help her, but he kept it close just in case. Grace eventually realised she was getting nowhere so got a box and stepped on to it and successfully got onto his lap. Nathan tried to continue his conversation with Lucas but Grace was climbing all over him demanding his attention.

"You an attention seeker just like your daddy, aren't you?" Lucas said to her

"Hey!"

"Hey!" Grace copied and Nathan laughed.

"Yes, Uncle Lucas was being mean to daddy" Nathan told her and she turned to look at Lucas.

"Uccle Ucas, don be mean to daddy" she pointed her finger at him and Brooke awed behind him.

"That's my girl" Nathan kissed her on the cheek.

"What's going on?" Haley asked as she came over.

"Uccle Ucas was been mean to daddy so I telled him off, like you do" she stated proudly

"It's 'told him off' baby and well done" she smirked when Lucas pouted.

"That's not fair, am I going to have you all ganging up on me now too"

"Yup" Nathan replied

"Yup!" Grace clapped.

"Well isn't this cute" a voice said from behind them.

"What are you doing here Dan?" Deb asked

"I heard that I'm a grandfather and it turns out that it's true. I came to see them" he said sincerely

"That's bull, Dan. What do you really want?" Deb persisted

"I'm being honest, they are the legacy after all"

"No way in hell are you coming anywhere near my children" Nathan finally spoke

"They're my grandchildren Nathan"

"Yeah, but they're my kids and I think that means I overrule you. I don't want your influence on them" he said

"I only did my best for you Nathan, now you're a parent hopefully you will understand that"

"No, now that I'm a parent I can't understand what you did to me. You didn't do what was best for me, you did what was best for yourself. There's a difference."

"Son-"

"Leave, Dad. I don't want you anywhere near my children so get out"

"Fine, it hurts me that it's come to this"

"You brought it on yourself"

Dan turned around and walked out of the cafe.

"You know he won't leave it alone Nathan" Deb told him

"I know, but I will do everything in my power to keep them safe. He is not getting to them" Nathan finished determinedly.

**R&R thanks.**


	5. For Blue Skies

**A/N: Oh my god, I'm so sorry it's been so long. I've had me GCSE's so I've been revising loads and not had the time to write and I kept getting stuck with this chapter but I've only got history and statistics less so I'll probably be updating more now. I also want to thank you all for staying with and any people who just started reading . **

**Also to anyone who lived in England who loves the e4 ads for season five. I love that voice over dude, I could seriously just watch e4 ads forever their hilarious. Anyway on to the chapter, hope it was worth the wait.**

* * *

Haley and Nathan quietly made their way into the apartment with the twins in their arms. A week had passed since the confrontation with Dan at the cafe. They made their way into the second bedroom where there were two child size beds for Grace and James.

Nathan had gone all out with decorating their bedroom. One half was blue with a race car bed for Jamie. Peyton had decorated the walls and each had an intricate design. Grace's side was purple with a princess bed. Grace and Jamie were exhausted from their day out, they had decided to give the twins a tour of Tree Hill and ended up staying at the river court most of the day as Nathan taught them both the game he loved. He had planned on making it something to do with James as Brooke wanted to take Grace shopping because apparently she was going to be a model, but Grace had insisted on being included.

"Their completely wiped" Haley laughed softly

"Yeah lets hope they sleep in tomorrow"

"Oh Nathan, have you learnt nothing? They never sleep in, just to punish us"

"Maybe this time they will make an exception"

"I doubt it somehow"

"Well, P.S. they get that from you, I always sleep in" he laughed as they sat down on the sofa in the living room.

"Actually your mom said you never slept when you were a baby, I don't know if I believe her but it's what she said" Haley teased

"Whatever" Nathan pouted "Anyway, it looks like we're going to have two little ballers on our hands"

"Yeah, they were better than me"

"That's not hard Hales"

"Oh come on, they're two!

"You're forgetting their my kids"

"How could I forget?" she said softly before quickly changing the subject "We watched a few of your games on the tv and Grace would start cheering, it was so cute"

"I wish I could have been able to see them on my tv" he said

"What are we going to do? We live on different sides of the country"

"I don't know Haley, but I know I want to be with you and the twins"

"You really mean that?" Haley asked

"Of course I do" he assured her as he leant in and kissed her gently on the lips. She started to kiss back and pulled him closer to him. They leant back until they were lying on the sofa.

"Wait" Haley stopped them and Nathan groaned causing her to laugh "We can't get distracted, we need to talk about this"

"Haley, I want to be us again and I want to be a family" Nathan told her, moving a piece of hair out of her eyes.

"Nathan, are you sure? I mean after everything-"

"Haley, I never stopped loving you and I hate that we lost these two years but I'm just happy I found you. I love you Haley James. I want to wake up and see you everyday, I want to see our children everyday and mostly I want to show you how much I love you"

"I'll come to Duke" Haley said

"I was going to ask you" Nathan admitted

"Duke is better than Stanford, we'll be closer to family and you'll keep your scholarship, but what about my expenses, I can't afford college"

"I spoke to a few people at Duke and explained our situation and they said they would meet the Stanford scholarship so you could come to Duke"

"Wow, that was really forward thinking, if not a little cocky" she teased

"So now that's all sorted can we get back to what we were doing" he said as he started to kiss her neck

"Definitely, but maybe we should take it to the bedroom" she suggested coyly.

Nathan didn't even reply, he just pulled her up with him and practically ran to the bedroom.

The next morning Haley woke up with Nathan's arms wrapped around her waist. She turned around to face him and saw he was wide awake. He greeted her with a kiss on the lips.

"Good morning"

"Morning" she yawned "How long have you been awake"

"Just a few minutes"

"About last night"

"It's okay, it's not about sex with me, when you're ready I will be too" and they both laughed remembering the last time they had had a similar conversation.

Haley watched Grace peeked out of the en suite door and told Jamie to shush.

"Hey daddy, do you think we should go and look for Grace and Jamie?"

"Yeah maybe we should" Nathan said playing along and they walked to the twins bedroom.

"Oh, no! They're not here!" Nathan said

"Wherever could they be" Haley asked him, smiling when she heard the giggles coming from the bathroom

"What's that?" Nathan asked and they made their way to the bathroom

"What if it's a bathroom monster?" Haley asked smiling.

Grace and James jumped out from behind the door and Nathan and Haley jumped back, playing along.

"No Mama it's me and Gwace" Jamie said

"Be careful mommy, it could be a trick and that could be the bathroom monster" Nathan said

"Don't be silly daddy" Grace said putting a hand on her hip

"Well be better check" Nathan said and picked them both up and secured them under his arms then took them into the bedroom and put them on the bed and began to tickle them.

Haley stood at the door watching with the widest smile on her face.

"Yep definitely Jamie and Grace Scott" he told Haley before whispering something to Grace and Jamie.

"Whatever it is, don't" Haley said as they started towards her. She turned around and ran, she went downstairs and Nathan followed carrying the twins carefully down the stairs and reached the living room. He caught Haley and held her down as Grace and Jamie tickled her.

They all collapsed in a giggling heap. They spent the day as a proper family.

* * *

The next couple of years passed by happily and graduation from college arrived. They had lived as a family and Grace and James had gotten so much bigger. They were almost five and about to start school but they had to find out where they were going to live. It was most likely that they would be going to New York as the Knicks had shown a lot of interest in Nathan.

Haley and Nathan had been engaged for almost a year and they were getting married at the end of the summer. Nathan had a shoe contract with Nike and was using a lot of the money for the wedding. He wanted Haley to have the perfect wedding, even if it was turning her into bridezilla.

_Nathan took Haley to the spot on the beach where they had gotten married. They sat together and watched the sunset and the waves crash._

"_I love you" he told her_

"_I love you too" she turned and kissed his cheek._

"_Marry me" he whispered softly into her ear. Haley went stiff with shock and looked at him with wide eyes._

"_Really?" she asked weakly_

"_Yeah, I know we've been married before but I want it again. I want the ring on your finger so that everyone knows your mine and I want you to have the perfect wedding that you didn't have last time"_

"_Nathan, I loved our wedding"_

"_I know, but your a girl and I know you want a big one with dresses and flowers and bridesmaids and next year we'll be able to afford the most extravagant wedding the world has ever seen if you want it"_

"_I love you, and Yes! Of course, yes" she smiled and kissed him on the lips_

"_Stand up" he instructed and she did. He stayed on one knee and got a box out of his pocket and inside was the most beautiful ring Haley had ever seen. It was platinum with an amethyst surrounded by two diamonds, and always and forever was engraved into the band. He slipped it onto Haley's finger and they spent the night celebrating._

"Okay Hales I was thinking for your bouquet, if you had one red rose surrounded by white roses" Brooke said. She was temporary maid of honour since Taylor couldn't get to Tree Hill until a week before the wedding. Brooke was designing the dresses and helping with the arrangements but it made Nathan cringe. All Brooke was doing was turning Haley into even more of a bridezilla, so he was staying out of the way. Unfortunately Brooke had demanded he help.

"Actually Brooke, I was thinking of white lilies with those small purple flowers"

"It's your funeral" she said and Haley scoffed "No seriously tutormom, lilies are associated with death and those purple flowers, well, they look like weeds"

"Brooke!" Haley exclaimed in indignation

"Fine, we'll go with you"

"Well it is my wedding"

They continued to talk and Nathan stayed in the hall debating whether to go in or not when Grace came up behind him.

"You should run, mommy and aunt Brooke are going crazy in there" she told him matter of factly

"I have to go in, I promised I'd help. Will you come with me?"

"Your funny daddy" she said, that was and expression she'd picked up from Haley, the sarcastic reaction when he suggested something he knew she wouldn't do "but they might make me try on another dress" Nathan laughed as her face crinkled in disgust.

"How about if we stick together?" he suggested

"Promise I won't have to try on any dresses"

"I promise, and where is your brother?" he asked

"He's hiding because they made him wear a shoot"

"Do you mean a suit?"

"I think so"

"Okay, brace yourself, 1, 2, 3" he joked as they walked in

"There you are" Haley exclaimed without looking up

"Yeah hot shot we've been waiting for you for ages"

"Well I'm here now and what's this I've been hearing about you two making my baby girl wear a dress" he joked as Grace settled on his lap.

"She has to wear one Nathan, and she looks so cute" Brooke said and the adults giggled as Grace pouted and crossed her arms over her chest

"Grace, why don't you put the one we chose on to show daddy" Haley suggested and Grace shook her head and looked at Nathan with a pout evident on her face

"Come on, Gracie, just try it on so I can see it then you won't have to wear it again until the wedding"

"Just look at it on the wedding" Grace told him

"The only person I'll be looking at on the wedding will be Mommy so I have to see your dress now, and get Jamie to put on his suit too" Nathan said

"Later" Grace simply replied and ran off

"God Nathan, she has you wrapped around her little finger" Brooke laughed

"Whatever Brooke" he said and Haley leant over and kissed him on the lips.

"That was really sweet, what you said" Haley told him

"Well you know me"

"Arrogant jackass" Brooke butted in and the couple glared at her

"I think I'll go now. We'll talk tomorrow Hales" she said and left

"Can you believe that this time next week we'll be married" Haley whispered

"Baby, we've been married before"

"I know but this time it's big and people know and are going to be there and our children are going to be there and ooh, it's going to be so fun" she rambled

"Of course it will" he said smiling "I love you"

"I love you too"

"Mommy has Bwooke gone?" Jamie asked as he came into the room

"Yeah the Brookie monster left a while ago jimmy jam" Nathan told him and he giggled

"Don't be mean, she's practically organised your wedding" Haley told him

"It's more like her practice run for the day she drags Lucas down the aisle" Nathan muttered

"Where's your sister?" Haley asked James

"She's playing in our room" he told them

"You want to go play some ball?" Nathan asked Jamie, who nodded and they headed out

"Be back in an hour, I'm making dinner"

Jamie and Nathan reached the river court and started to throw the ball around but Nathan realised Jamie was playing very half heartedly.

"You alright, James?"

"Yeah" he muttered

"Are you excited for the wedding?" he persisted

Jamie didn't answer him and just kept bouncing the ball.

"What's wrong Jimmy Jam?" Nathan asked as they went to sit at the bleachers "Come on tell me"

"Grace said when you get married you and Mommy will have more babies and you won't love us anymore" he said quietly

"What? Jamie that's not true. Me and your mommy will always love you and Grace, don't ever worry about that"

"But Grace said-"

"Grace is wrong, and I'm going to talk to her about this okay?"

"Okay" Jamie smiled.

Nathan was happy, he'd pacified James but now he couldn't help but wonder why Grace would have said that. They stayed at the river court for a little while longer before heading home.

"There are my boys" Haley said as they walked into the kitchen "Did you guys have a good time at the river court?"

"Yeah mama" Jamie answered

"Hey you" Nathan said as he gave Haley a kiss "Have you seen Grace?"

"I think she's up in her room. Why?" Haley answered

"I'll tell you later" he nodded to Jamie pointedly

"Okay then, dinner will be ready soon"

Nathan nodded and headed up the stairs to Graces room and knocked on the door before opening it. She was only four but she demanded that everyone knock before they came in. Grace looked up briefly when Nathan entered but went back to her drawing. Nathan looked around the bedroom and noticed how obvious it was that he spoiled his daughter and that she had him wrapped around his little finger. The room was big and spacious and so was the bed. Haley had asked him when they were decorating why a four year old girl would need a queen size bed and the only reason he could give was that the four year old girl was Grace. The room was purple with Grace's drawings all over the wall and a desk in the corner. There were cushions all over the bed and other of Brooke's decoration trademarks throughout the room.

Nathan sat on the end of the bed and put his hand on hers to stop her drawing.

"What's up daddy?" she asked

"What have you been saying to Jamie?"

"A lot, he's my brother" she responded cheekily and Nathan would have laughed if he wasn't trying to be serious

"I mean about when you told him your mom and I wouldn't love him anymore when we get married"

"It's true"

"No it's not"

"Yeah it is, Johnny who was at the park told me when his mom and dad got married his older brother had to move out, and Johnny's really smart because he goes to a private school"

Nathan chuckled slightly "Okay, first of all, just because he goes to a private school doesn't mean he's smart it just means his parents have a lot of money and secondly that's a different situation. Johnny's brother had a different mom or dad and was living with them"

"How do you know?"

"Because I'm your Dad and I know everything"

"Really?"

"Yeah" he scooted closer to her "And I think you told Jamie those things because you were scared it was true"

"I'm Grace Lydia Scott and I do not get scared!" she said determinedly

"I know, but just in case, your mom and I will never stop loving you or love anyone more than you"

"but" she started shyly "If you have another baby?"

"Then we'll love it as much as we love you and Jamie, but we couldn't love it more because it's not possible" he told her

"Good" she said

"That's it, good?"

"Yup"

"C'mere" he said as he grabbed her and started to tickle her

"Daddy, stop it! I can't breath" she giggled and he stopped but kept her on his lap

"How much do you love me?"

She got up and grabbed his hand she led him down the stairs and outside before pointing up.

"All the way to that star, and even though it looks close Uncle Luke told me it's really really far away"

"Wow! That's like, a lot"

"Yep"

"Come on princess, it's time for dinner now"

They made their way in and joined Haley and James at the table.

"Dad?"

"Yes Jamie"

"Are you and mom going on moneyhoon after the wedding?"

"It's honeymoon stupid" Grace said

"Grace don't call your brother stupid" Nathan scolded "and yes we are, to London"

"Where are me and Grace going?"

"Grace and I" Haley corrected "And you're going to stay with Uncle Lucas and Aunt Brooke"

"Okay"

* * *

Haley walked through the supermarket looking for something to cook for dinner when she saw her soon to be father in law again come around the corner. They hadn't had any contact with him since the time in the cafe three years ago.

Haley walked past him and went down the next aisle.

"Haley" she heard Dan's voice and jumped "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you"

"It's okay, do you need something?"

"I heard you and Nathan are getting married again, I just wanted to say I'm happy for you"

"What?" Haley asked, surprised

"I was wrong about you, you've been good for Nathan and you managed to get through college while raising two children"

"We had a lot of help"

"Even so, Nathan's being drafted and has raised a family, something I could never do. I'm proud of him" he muttered the last part and turned to leave.

Haley wasn't sure what it was but she felt like Dan was being genuine and it seemed like he was admitting his wrongs and trying to make peace. Haley knew how much Nathan had hurt Dan but if their was a chance that their relationship could be repaired she would take it, after all he was still married to Deb and they'd seen her loads but put her in a hard position.

"Mr Scott" Haley called out "The weddings at the church on Saturday, you're invited if you want to come" she simply told him and turned around and walked away.

Nathan, Grace and Jamie were in the kitchen. Grace and Jamie were drawing while Nathan was making them something to eat.

"Hey" Haley said as she walked in

"Hey" replied

"Hi mama" the twins said together

"Grace, Jamie why don't you two go play in the back yard, I need to talk to daddy" Haley said and Nathan sent her a questioning look

"What's up?" Nathan asked

"Okay, don't be mad" she said as she moved over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck

"What is it?" he asked unsurely

"Okay, I ran into Dan in the supermarket and I invited him to the wedding" Nathan began to pull away "before you say anything" she pulled him back "there are going to be a lot of people at our wedding so you don't have to speak to him but I genuinely think he's trying to change"

"Hales this is our special day!"

"I know, but he's your father even if he doesn't really act like it but if there's any way I can help to fix your relationship I'm going to try"

"I don't have to talk to him if I don't want to?"

"No" she assured him

"I guess that's not so bad"

"Good" she smiled and kissed his lips softly

"Oh my god!" she gasped

"What?"

"We're getting married in three days"

"Yeah we are" he kissed her again.

**Hope you liked it. It was kind of and unbetween chapter and it went through a lot. Next chapter will be the wedding. I'm still undecided on whether to have a good or bad Dan but anyway review **


	6. More than Anyone

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long since the last update but here it is. This is a nice little chapter. Sorry that it's shorter than usual. I'll try to update Broken soon as well and maybe another chapter of NIK but I'm going on holiday next week so I might be a little busy.**

* * *

Haley stood in the room at the back of the church where she was getting ready with Brooke, Peyton, Taylor and Grace. Brooke and Peyton left the room to go check everything was running smoothly.

"You look beautiful little sis, I'm so happy for you" Taylor said as she wrapped her arms around her sister's shoulders

"Thanks Tay"

"I'm going to see Daddy" Grace informed them before leaving the room

"I've really missed them" Taylor said

"They've missed you too, but you'll start visiting more right?"

"Yeah, 'cause you are going to have one kick ass mansion paid for by an NBA salary" she teased

"Jealous?"

"Totally"

"Good" Haley laughed

* * *

"Hey daddy" Grace said as she walked into the room where the men were getting ready.

"Hey, don't you look beautiful"

"Mommy looks better" she said

"I'll bet" he smiled "Do you two know what you have to do?" he asked bringing Jamie over

"We have to walk down the aisle first and I have to throw the flowers up but not too much" she recited

"And I have to give the rings to Uncle Lucas" James finished

"That's right" Nathan told them "And these rings are very important so when I give them to you don't lose them" he handed the rings to Jamie

"I won't"

"Okay, I have to go now so you two should go to mommy"

"Bye Daddy" the said as they left

"You have some perfect kids nephew" Cooper told him

"Well they take after their Uncle" Lucas but in

"Ha Ha" Nathan retorted

"We better go" Jake told them

"Ready, man?" Lucas asked

"Yeah, I can't wait to be married again"

"Married again or married to Haley" Lucas teased

"You already know the answer to that" Nathan told him

They went and stood on the altar, waiting for the bridesmaids and then Haley to walk down the aisle. Nathan looked out into the congregation and saw everyone who was there, a big difference from last time when only Haley's parents had been in attendance. He saw Lydia sitting in the front row on the bride's side with a few of Haley's brothers and sisters and when he looked to his own side he saw his parents sitting there. It was rare to see them together and even though he knew their whole marriage was a disaster based around lies and the fact that his Mom had been pregnant with him, it didn't stop the little boy inside of him wanting to be normal parents and grandparents.

He hadn't spoken to his father since Haley had invited him to the wedding, he wanted to see if he was being sincere and meant what he had said.

Catching him by surprise the music started, and Grace and Jamie made their way up the aisle. Nathan could hea everyone in attendance awwing at the sight of them and he had to admit, they did look adorable. The perfect mix of him and Haley. As they went to sit with Lydia he saw Grace send him a sly wink and laughed slightly. They'd spent weeks trying to perfect it. Brooke all ways winked and Grace wanted to do it too, but the young girl had had some trouble and had just kept closing both of her eyes.

Nathan watched as Taylor, Peyton and Brooke walked up to the altar and he waited in anticipation. The music changed and everyone stood up looking in the direction of the bride.

At the back of the church Haley stood with her father.

"You know, I've done this once already with you" Jimmy teased

"This will be the last, I promise" she smiled

"I know, any fool can see how much the two of you love each other"

Haley hugged her father and heard the music in the background. "I think that's our cue" she told him and they moved to the door way.

Nathan's breath got caught as Haley came in to view. She looked stunning. Their eyes never left each other as she walked towards him on her fathers arm. He remembered proposing to her, both the first and second time and recalled the feeling that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, the only one he would consider facing life with.

Jimmy kissed Haley's cheek, placed her hand in Nathan's and the moved towards the altar together. The service seemed to pass quickly before they made it to the vows.

"Nathan" the reverend prompted

"Haley, when I proposed to you, all I felt was how nothing in the world would ever be worth anything without you. Being with you made me complete, you're my better half and because of that I promise that I will love, protect and honour you. I will never lie or hurt you. This I promise for today and for always and forever" he smiled as he slid the ring onto her finger

"Nathan, there is one word that has been said will free us of the weight and pain of life and that word is love, and I believe that. That doesn't mean that it hasn't been hard, or that it won't be. It just means that, I found a stillness and bravery in myself with you. You make me brave, and I will love you until the end of time. This I vow today." She put her ring on his finger.

"I now pronounce you man and wife" the reverend smiled "You may kiss the bride"

"This is my favourite part" Nathan smirked

"Mine too" she said as they kissed softly.

"Yuck" Grace and and Jamie exclaimed from the front row and everyone laughed. Nathan and Haley pulled away and smiled at their children.

They stepped down and led all the guests out of the church to where they were going to take pictures. There was a picture of just Nathan and Haley, one of Haley with the brides maids and one of Nathan with the groomsmen, one of Grace and James, one of the happy couple with Nathan's family, even Dan, and one with Haley's, a few more of the couple in different places and finally one of the four of them which would hang in every house that the family would live for many years to come.

* * *

The reception was being in the garden of Tree Hill's best hotel, where most of the wedding guests were staying. The meal had been served and the wedding party sat at the table on a slightly raised platform at the front of the room.

The atmosphere was light and carefree and everyone was enjoying themselves and the children were running around the place.

"Time for a speech" Lucas said as he stood up "The last time I gave a speech about Nathan and Haley was, well at their first reception. I remember saying, 'Prepare to be surprised.' Well, I have to say even I was surprised; because, you see they do something that's very rare to see in someone our age. Actually, it's very rare to see in anybody; they give their hearts to each other, unconditionally. And, that's what true love really is. It's not this fairytale life that never knows pain, but it's two souls facing it together and diminishing it with unconditional love. To Nathan and Haley Scott."

"My turn" Taylor stood up sending a smirk in the newlyweds direction

"I'm not going to focus on all the sappy stuff like Lucas, I'm going to use this wedding speech for what wedding speeches were intended" she paused "to embarass the hell out of one or more of the newly married couple" the guests laughed and Haley sent her a playful glare

"I'm just kidding sis, I wouldn't do that to you, plus all the embarassing stories that you've accumulated over the years, we'd be here all day" everyone laughed again

"But I'm going to keep this short. You two are perfect for each other, everyone knows it, that's why we all came to celebrate with you today and not the fact that you were offering a free meal" a ripple of laughter rang in the air "To Haley and Nathan, may life treat you well" She finished

"To Haley and Nathan" everyone raised their glasses and drank.

"Now for their first dance as husband and wife, well kinda" Lucas said

Haley and Nathan made their way to the make shift dance floor and stood in the middle. Gavin Degraw's More than Anyone sounded and they danced happily.

While Lucas danced with Haley Nathan went looking for the kids, he hadn't seen them in a while. He was walking around the tables that were set out sporadically in the garden when he saw Grace and Jamie but they weren't alone, they were playing with his father. He quickly made his way over to them but he saw how the were enjoying themselves and managed to calm down a bit.

"Jamie, Grace" he called out and Dan looked over to him "Come on, me and mommy have been looking for you"

"In between being gross" Grace said to her brother

"Yeah, and in the church. Isn't it wrong to kiss in a church, daddy?"

"Yeah, Grandma Lyd says you have to be quiet in church so you probably should kiss" she told her Dad

"They make a special exception when it's a wedding, didn't you hear the priest telling us to kiss" Nathan teased

Before Grace could answer, Jamie had "She kept talking"

"No I didn't" she cried indignantly "Just at the end because it was getting boring"

"So that was when Grandma Lyd told you not to talk in church"

"Yeah but other people were crying so she should tell them off" Grace said and Nathan laughed

"C'mon munchkins" he pushed them in the direction of the dancefloor

"Nathan" Dan called out

"Go on ahead, I'll be there in a minute" he told the twins and the ran off

"Bye Dan" they both said as the went

"What?" Nathan spat as he turned to face Dan

"I just wanted to say congratulations"

"Why now Dad?"

"Because you just got married"

"No, why are you trying to build bridges now?"

"Becuase I've realised the mistakes I made with you and Lucas, and I want to try and be a better grandfather than I was a father"

"That's not hard" Nathan told him

"I know, I just want to make it up to you, please give me a chance" Nathan stared at Dan trying to read his expression and all he saw was sincerity, but he had been fooled before.

"Please son"

"Don't screw this up" Nathan warned as he walked away. He would let Dan be a part of his kids lives but only a very small part. He was not going to let Grace or James get hurt by Dan. They together with Haley were his world and there was no way he would let Dan get any influence in their lives, but he could see them.

Nathan went back to the dancefloor and spent the rest of the night dancing with his family, a true smile on his face.

* * *

Haley, Nathan, Grace, Jamie and Lucas stood in the airport waiting for Nathan and Haley's flight for London to be called. Haley had never been away from the children for longer than a few days so she wanted to see them until the last possible second.

"Flight E62836 to Heathrow now boarding"

"That's us babe" Nathan told Haley

"I know"

"Bye mommy" Jamie said

"Bye baby, I'll see you in a week" she said

They said their goodbyes and Haley and Nathan boarded the plane and headed to London for their long awaited honeymoon.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, leave reviews people and I will try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible. A quick disclaimer, I do not own OTH or the quotes I used from 322 'The show must go on'.**

**Hope you enjoyed.**


	7. Cold Day in July

**A/N: It's been a while since I've updated and I know, so much for having these stories finished by the end of the summer so I'll just keep trying to get chapters up as soon as I can. I've just gotten into supernatural and I absolutely love Jensen Ackles, the guy is freaking perfect looking! lol Anyway.**

**The song for this chapter is Cold Day in July by Dixie Chicks and I'm just taking the title so don't worry about listening to the words if you have been.**

**Disclaimer: I haven't done one yet I don't think so I'll just say I don't own One Tree Hill or any of the characters on the show and any dialogue taken from the show will be credited. No copyright intended. **

* * *

Haley and Nathan lay in there Hotel room, tangled up in the sheets and eating breakfast in bed. They had gone to London hoping for rain, even though it was July, they weren't disappointed because to be honest it is England._ (a/n: I'm English so I'm not trying to offend anyone lol) _The rain was pouring outside their hotel room and a sea of umbrella's moved on the streets below but Haley still wanted to go out.

"What shall we do today?" Haley asked, she had been dying to go sight seeing but Nathan had prevented her from leaving the bed, let alone the room all week.

"Well, I had a few ideas" he smirked and planted his lips on her neck and began leaving light kisses on her skin.

"No, no! None of that. We are leaving this hotel room"

"Okay, how about the pool, I heard there's a great hot tub down there"

"Ha ha" Haley dead panned "I want to go sight seeing"

"But there's a great sight to see here" he pointed to himself.

"Nathan!" Haley cried out, exasperatedly.

"Fine, we'll go out but as soon as we get back I'm imposing a nakedness rule"

"A nakedness rule?" she mocked.

"Yes, stating you have to be naked at all timed unless wearing some kind of edible underwear"

"Eww you perv!" she laughed.

"Only for you" he moved closer to her in the bed.

"That isn't a compliment" she pushed him away "Now go and get ready"

Nathan grugdingly made his way to the bathroom and Haley followed him, admiring the view as she did. He turned around with an expectant look on his face.

"I know what you're thinking but no, I just realised I need longer to get ready so I should shower first"

"Or we could save even more time by showering together"

"Oh, but you're failing to see the flaw in that plan"

"The flaw's the best part" he joked.

"Nathan! Will you put some ice on it for a couple of hours."

"But Hales! It's our honeymoon, there's not supposed to be any ice at any time, even in public" he smirked.

"Nathan Scott brush your teeth and let me have my shower"

"Are you insinuating that my breath smells?"

"Insinuating?" Haley leaned out of the shower to see him

"Hey!" Nathan protested "I went to college"

"Yes, Honey, you're a genius" she teased

"Sh vdsha wah a oh" Nathan spoke through a mouthful of toothepaste.

"What?"

"I said, so where do you want to go?"

"Big ben, Covent Garden, The london eye, Tooley street and if we have time maybe Camden"

"Haley, come on! That's the whole day! And it's raining!"

"You're starting to sound like Grace" she chastised "I bet you're even doing the pout"

Nathan quickly changed his expression as he saw himself in the mirror and Haley laughed from inside the shower.

"And anyway, we like rain."

"Only when we get to make out in it, not when we have to trudge around London without any way to warm ourselves up"

"It's not really cold Nathan."

"It's cold enough for July" he muttered

"We're still going" she persisted.

"Are you done yet?"

"Yep" she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself.

"Now that's just mean" he gestured to the towel before pulling it off and carrying her back to the bed.

* * *

Although it was only five in the morning, Lucas and Brooke were wide awake as Grace continued screaming. Last night before she went to bed she said she felt sick and her temperature was slightly high, but they gave her some tylenol and sent her to bed but now it was spiking and they were really getting worried. She was usually better for this type of thing, she didn't usually cry when something hurt, she was mostly a whiner or on Nathan she would use the infamous pout. So if she was crying it had to be pretty bad.

"I want my daddy!" she whimpered

"I know, Gracie but he's not here." Brooke stroked her hair trying to calm her down. "I think we should take her to the emergency room" she whispered to Lucas "Just to be on the safe side."

Lucas nodded and then took a quick look over Grace when something caught his eye.

"There's a rash on her arm"

"What?"

"On her arm" he pointed "I don't want to assume the worst but it could be meningitis"

"Luke get a glass"

Lucas nodded and went to get one. Brooke remembered that one fact from a first aid thing she had once done. It said that if the rash didn't disappear under glass and the child had a temperature it would most likely be meningitis and professional help should be got immediately. Lucas ran back into the room with the glass and made his way over to Brooke and Grace.

Brooke pressed the glass that Lucas just handed her onto Grace's skin and she could still clearly see the rash.

"We have to go. You should take Jamie to Peyton's and then meet me at the hospital, and you should call Haley and Nathan"

"Okay" Lucas nodded and went to get Jamie as Brooke headed out of the house.

Lucas carried Jamie over to Peyton and Jake's house as Brooke had taken the car. He got out his cell phone and dialed.

* * *

After an exhausting morning in bed, Haley's plan to go sight seeing clearly forgotten, Haley and Nathan lay in each other's arms contentedly. Haley listened to Nathan's heart beating as her head rested on his chest. The phone started to ring and Haley snuggled into Nathan.

"I thought we said no phones" she said

"We had to keep one on in case anything happened" Nathan reasoned "But I'm sure nothing has" he reassured her even though he was worried, he knew it was only about 5am in Tree Hill.

"Hey Luke"

"Nate, Grace is sick. We think it might be meningitis, Brooke's taken her to the emergency room"

Nathan started to panic "We'll get the next flight back. Bye" he hung up the phone.

"What is it?" Haley asked with worry etched into her face.

"Grace is sick. They think it's meningitis" Nathan choked out.

"We have start packing"

"Yeah" Nathan agreed and they both got their suitcases and piled everything at top speed both trying to avoid thinking about what could happen.

Haley had studied every medical encyclopedia for children she could find, she had always wanted to be prepared. She knew that if there was a burn to the skin, that you should take all material off the burn and hold it under cold water for 10 minutes and then wrap it in cellofane and if it doesn't go down to go to the emergency room. She knew that it was better to have chicken pox young and she also knew that meningitis could be fatal. Which it why she had taken Grace and Jamie to get their jabs but Grace had started playing up when they got to the doctor's office and Haley had booked another appointment for when her and Nathan got back from their honeymoon. Only now it was too late.

Nathan watched as Haley packed and saw that she was getting worked up and would soon start blaming herself. She had told him what happened at the doctor's office when the twins went for their jabs and he knew that if anything happened to Grace that she would never forgive herself. He knew it was stupid but she felt guilty. She wasn't to know that this would happen, he didn't even know how Grace could have got meningitis, but she was his daughter and she was strong. There was no way that she wouldn't get through this. At least that is what he tried to convince himself.

* * *

Brooke and Lucas sat in the waiting room of Tree Hill hospital waiting for some news about Graces condition. As soon as they had got there, the doctors rushed Grace in for tests, they could never be too careful when if was suspected meningitis.

"If anything happens to her" Brooke trailed off.

Lucas wanted to offer some comfort, he really did but truth be told, he was just as afraid as she was and he wasn't able to lie to her. There was a good chance that there may not be a happy ending.

* * *

Haley and Nathan rushed through Heathrow airport trying to find a service desk. They waited in the queue, Nathan impatiently tapping his foot the entire time they eventually reached the desk and there was an old woman sitting there who looked like she had been doing the job for years.

"Next please" she called out in a frail voice

"Hi" Haley said "We need to get the soonest possible flight to New Brunswick Airport, North Carolina"

"The next flight to North Carolina departs in 1 hour, but I'm sorry it's fully booked. There's free seats on one tomorrow at 9:00pm"

"We can't wait that long." Nathan bit out "It's an emergency" he finished in a softer tone.

"I'm sorry sir there are no seats"

"Listen, our daughter has been rushed to hospital with meningitis. We need to get home" He pleaded with desperation in his voice.

"You can have our tickets" A woman spoke from behind them "We haven't checked in yet and you obviously need to get back"

"Are you sure?" Haley asked

"Yeah, we don't mind an extra day of holidays"

"Put the tickets on this card" Nathan handed his credit card to the lady behind the desk.

"You don't have to do that" the man protested

"It's the least we can do. Really" he insisted

"Thank you" both women said at the same time as they parted ways. The clerk changed the tickets into their name and they headed for check in. They literally ran through the airport and got on the plane.

"It's an eight hour flight, Nathan. Anything could happen"

"Don't think like that Haley" he snapped back.

"Don't take it out on me" she whispered harshly

"We can't change how long it takes and we're getting there as soon as we can"

Haley didn't reply and just turned to look out the window.

Nathan sighed "I'm sorry. We're both stressed, we shouldn't be taking this out on each other."

Haley nodded mutely but gripped his hand which was lying in his lap. They sat silently as the plane took off and stayed engrossed in their own thoughts.

"Nate, what if..." Haley trailed

"She's going to be fine" Nathan reassured her as much for his own sake as hers.

* * *

Hours had passed and the doctor had confirmed that it was meningitis and had asked Lucas to bring in Jamie just to be on the safe side and luckily he was fine. Brooke and Lucas were drifting to sleep in the waiting room. They knew Haley and Nathan were on their way but they felt horrible, no one was allowed in to see Grace until her parents got here, so she was alone. Brooke hated to think how scared she would be. Grace hated being alone. There were times when she would just go up to her room and draw or play with her toys but she always had to know that someone was around, and she had been asking for Nathan the whole week. If he didn't get there soon and Grace wakes up with any sense of what's happening who knows what she'll think.

Lucas looked up and saw Haley and Nathan running into the hospital.

"Hales!" he called out

"Where is she?" she asked

"Are you Grace Scott's parents?" the doctor asked

"Yeah" Nathan answered "How is she?"

"I'm not going to lie. Meningitis can be fatal in young children but we are doing everything we can and Grace is very strong and luckily it was caught early enough"

"So what now?" he asked

"We do everything we can and hope for the best"

They nodded not very happy with what they were told but knowing that there was nothing that they could do personally except be there for her.

"Can we see her?"

"Yes of course" the doctor led them towards her room "You have to wear these" he handed them both scrubs and mouth guards.

"Is this really necessary"

"It's a precaution but it is needed" the doctor told them.

They put on the clothes and went in the room. Grace was awake and she tried to move to them but wasn't able and started to cry.

"Daddy!"

"Hey baby" he tried to keep his voice even but she was hooked up to machines and had tubes coming out of everywhere

"Daddy, what's wrong with me?"

"You have something called meningitis but you're going to get better"

"Why are you and mommy wearing masks"

"So we don't spread any germs or we don't get sick"

"You look funny" she giggled slightly

He pretended to look into the window at his reflection "I kinda do don't I?" he smiled even though he knew she couldn't see his mouth, she could see his eyes and he knew that she could tell he was smiling.

"I don't like the hospital everything's beeping and people keep looking in. I don't like it. I want to go home!" she started to whine.

"How about I stay here with you?" he bargained.

Grace nodded, she had lost all her energy after their short conversation and looked in pain. Nathan could barely watch but if she needed him to stay with her then he would.

"I'll go and see Jamie" Haley announced

"Yeah, is he allowed in now?"

"I don't know, I'll ask" Haley left the room and Nathan sat with Grace. She had quickly fallen asleep and was now out cold but Nathan could see that she was still uncomfortable. He would do anything he could to take this pain away from her. It felt impossible to him that only this morning he had been on his honeymoon in London with his wife and now he was in a hospital room with his daughter no knowing whether she would see her next birthday.

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, I'm evil. But leave some reviews and I will try and get the next episode up asap.**


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